Advancing the ME/CFS Research Agenda

The first Canadian Collaborative Team Conference held in Montréal, Quebec on May 3-5, 2018 brought together researchers, clinicians, patients and advocacy organizations to advance the ME/CFS research agenda from basic research to clinical practice. The conference was supported by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research and other stakeholders to address one of the most pressing medical mysteries of our time, with millions of individuals afflicted by this devastating illness.

The agenda was organized and driven by a quest for increased collaboration, with hopes to leverage the collective knowledge and unite pockets of innovation to transform the research landscape in a commitment to improve the health of patients suffering from ME/CFS in Canada and around the world, according to Alain Moreau, chair of the scientific committee, and Morris Duhaime, the conference chair.

Betsy Keller

Betsy Keller, Professor in the department of exercise and sport sciences at Ithaca College, spoke on “What do we learn about ME/CFS from a cardiopulmonary exercise test?” to the full audience on day 1. On the second day,

Maureen Hanson

Maureen Hanson opened the afternoon session with her talk on “Biochemistry, metabolomics and proteomics”.  Betsy Keller spoke again in the patient-centered session on “Is heart rate a valid exertional index in ME/CFS?”

Science-focused sessions were concurrent with patient-centered discussions on the first two days, with the third day concentrating on developing ME/CFS networks, international collaborations and working groups to further the potential of interdisciplinary teams and research collaborations.

The Cornell ME/CFS Collaborative Research Center was well represented, including graduate students, postdocs, faculty, clinicians and patient/scientists in attendance to share and learn about the latest research and patient advocacy activities. 

The AMMES (American Myalgic Encephalomyelitis and 
Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Society) posted a summary of the meeting, penned by Courtney Craig, D.C., and visiting scientist to the Hanson Lab.

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